Home » Drip Campaigns » Abandoned Cart Recovery
How to Build an Abandoned Cart Recovery Sequence
An abandoned cart recovery sequence automatically contacts customers who started a purchase but did not complete it. With average cart abandonment rates around 70%, even recovering a small percentage of these lost sales can significantly increase revenue. A well-timed 3-message sequence combining email and SMS typically recovers 5-15% of abandoned carts.
Why Cart Abandonment Happens
People abandon carts for many reasons: unexpected shipping costs, comparison shopping, distractions, complicated checkout flows, or simply not being ready to buy yet. The important thing to understand is that most cart abandoners were genuinely interested. They found your product, added it to their cart, and started the checkout process. That level of intent makes them your warmest possible leads, and a recovery sequence gives them a second chance to complete the purchase.
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Set up the trigger.
The trigger for a cart recovery sequence is a cart event without a matching purchase event within a set time window (usually 1-2 hours). If your e-commerce platform or checkout system supports webhooks, use a webhook trigger to detect cart events and a conditional check to verify no purchase followed. The workflow then adds the contact to your cart recovery list.
The trigger for a cart recovery sequence is a cart event without a matching purchase event within a set time window (usually 1-2 hours). If your e-commerce platform or checkout system supports webhooks, use a webhook trigger to detect cart events and a conditional check to verify no purchase followed. The workflow then adds the contact to your cart recovery list.
Step 2: Create the recovery contact list.
Set up a dedicated list in the Email Broadcast app (and optionally a parallel list in the SMS Broadcast app). Contacts enter this list when the abandoned cart trigger fires and leave it automatically when they complete a purchase (use a workflow to remove them upon purchase completion so they stop receiving recovery messages).
Set up a dedicated list in the Email Broadcast app (and optionally a parallel list in the SMS Broadcast app). Contacts enter this list when the abandoned cart trigger fires and leave it automatically when they complete a purchase (use a workflow to remove them upon purchase completion so they stop receiving recovery messages).
Step 3: Write Message 1, the gentle reminder (1-2 hours after abandonment).
The first message should be a simple reminder, not a hard sell. Subject line example: "You left something in your cart." Body: remind them what they were looking at, include an image if possible, and provide a direct link back to their cart or checkout page. Keep the tone helpful, not desperate. "We noticed you did not finish your order. Your items are still waiting for you."
The first message should be a simple reminder, not a hard sell. Subject line example: "You left something in your cart." Body: remind them what they were looking at, include an image if possible, and provide a direct link back to their cart or checkout page. Keep the tone helpful, not desperate. "We noticed you did not finish your order. Your items are still waiting for you."
Step 4: Write Message 2, address objections (24 hours after abandonment).
If the first reminder did not work, the second message should address common reasons for abandoning. Include elements like: free shipping offer, customer reviews or ratings for the product, a satisfaction guarantee, or answers to frequently asked questions. This message builds confidence and reduces hesitation. "Still thinking it over? Here is what other customers are saying about [Product]."
If the first reminder did not work, the second message should address common reasons for abandoning. Include elements like: free shipping offer, customer reviews or ratings for the product, a satisfaction guarantee, or answers to frequently asked questions. This message builds confidence and reduces hesitation. "Still thinking it over? Here is what other customers are saying about [Product]."
Step 5: Write Message 3, the urgency message (48-72 hours after abandonment).
The final message creates urgency. Offer a small discount (5-10%), mention limited stock, or set a deadline on a special offer. "Your cart expires in 24 hours" or "We saved a 10% discount for you, valid through midnight." This is your last chance to recover the sale, so make the offer compelling enough to overcome whatever held them back.
The final message creates urgency. Offer a small discount (5-10%), mention limited stock, or set a deadline on a special offer. "Your cart expires in 24 hours" or "We saved a 10% discount for you, valid through midnight." This is your last chance to recover the sale, so make the offer compelling enough to overcome whatever held them back.
Step 6: Add SMS touchpoints for higher impact.
If you have the customer's phone number and SMS consent, add a text message between emails. A Day 1 SMS like "Hi [Name], your cart at [Brand] is still saved. Complete your order here: [link]" gets immediate attention and often outperforms the email version. Keep cart recovery texts very short and include a direct link. See How to Combine Email and SMS.
If you have the customer's phone number and SMS consent, add a text message between emails. A Day 1 SMS like "Hi [Name], your cart at [Brand] is still saved. Complete your order here: [link]" gets immediate attention and often outperforms the email version. Keep cart recovery texts very short and include a direct link. See How to Combine Email and SMS.
Step 7: Configure the schedule and automate removal.
Set the drip schedule to deliver messages at the intervals planned above. Critically, set up automatic removal: when a customer completes their purchase, a workflow should immediately remove them from the recovery list so they stop getting "finish your order" messages. Nothing annoys a customer more than getting a cart reminder after they already bought.
Set the drip schedule to deliver messages at the intervals planned above. Critically, set up automatic removal: when a customer completes their purchase, a workflow should immediately remove them from the recovery list so they stop getting "finish your order" messages. Nothing annoys a customer more than getting a cart reminder after they already bought.
Best Practices
- Do not discount too early. Message 1 should be a simple reminder with no discount. Save incentives for Message 3. If you offer a discount immediately, customers learn to abandon carts on purpose to get a deal.
- Include product images. A visual reminder of what they were about to buy is more compelling than text alone.
- Make the return path frictionless. Link directly to the saved cart or checkout page, not your homepage. Every extra click loses conversions.
- Keep it to 3 messages. Sending more than 3 cart recovery messages crosses from helpful to annoying. If they did not respond to 3 messages, they decided not to buy.
- Exclude repeat purchasers. If the customer completes the purchase through a different channel (phone order, in-store), make sure they are removed from the recovery list.
Revenue math: If you have 1,000 abandoned carts per month and recover 10% with this sequence, that is 100 additional sales. At an average order value of $50, that is $5,000 per month in recovered revenue running entirely on autopilot.
Recover lost sales with an automated cart abandonment sequence that runs 24/7.
Get Started Free